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Wednesday, December 12, 2007

Spelt Sourdough Bread

It's time to bake again! This is a simple bread recipe, and it makes some rather nice little buns that go very well with a bowl of soup. I love having some at hand in the freezer, then defrosting in the microwave and toasting them slightly.

I added sourdough because I had some - if you don't, you can omit it. Won't be the same, but close.

Spelt is a special type of wheat, that's very popular here in Sweden. (Dinkel)

Mix everything but the salt, and run in your stand mixer (or by all means, mix by hand, but be prepared to go for twice as long!) for 8 minutes. add the salt, and mix for an additional five.

Move the dough to a clean bowl and leave it to rise for two hours, covered.

Shape the dough into nice portion-sized buns, and place on a baking sheet. Put the baking sheets into your cold oven, and add a rimmed cookie sheet or a large saucepan to the bottom of the oven. Pour boiling water into this, and close the oven door. You now have a nice, moist, warm place for your bread to rise. Leave it for 30 minutes.

Remove everything from the oven, and heat it to 250°C. When it's warm, place the breads in the oven. Use a spray bottle to spray some water into the oven. This will create a crustier surface for the breads. Bake for 8-10 minutes, spraying in a bit more water at half-time if desired.

(You can use a pan of water, or ice, to create the steam instead, but I prefer using a spray bottle.)

Greg, I do try to write something every day :) I don't think the food processor will work, you need a mill to grind it properly... but just use wholewheat instead, and maybe a very small quantity of spelt grains, crushed in the food processor? I think that'd make for a nice texture! I've seen bread with whole durum grains before, and as long as it's not too much, it's really nice. :)

Your Spelt Sourdough bread looks very tempting. I adore making breads, and have a regular white flour sourdough starter. I am wondering if I could have your recipe for the whole wheat sourdough starter?